In the medieval Islamic world the glassmaking tradition continued strongly. The most important production areas were Egypt and Syria, which the West Europeans came into contact with through the Crusades. All around Europe, shards of Egyptian and Syrian objects have been discovered in the vicinity of the richest medieval houses researched. A great deal of these vessels has been beakers. Fragments of several glasses have been found in Sweden, and even in Turku one shard of an Islamic enamelled beaker, which broke in the 14th century, has been recovered. Islamic glass is usually fairly thick but colourless, and richly decorated with gilding and enamelling.
